


Love, Not Fear

by MusicalFangirl00193



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Families of Choice, M/M, Odin's A+ Parenting, That's basically what this is, What if everyone was nicer to Loki, but it is important
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 10:04:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20598965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MusicalFangirl00193/pseuds/MusicalFangirl00193
Summary: Loki Laufeyson, although he is not known by this name, has a family that would know him, down to the very depth of his soul.And in this world, they do not abandon him when he finds the people who gave birth to him and abandoned him.





	Love, Not Fear

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this over a year ago, but I'm also really bad about remembering to post things. So here is this.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Mother?” Thor stood hesitantly in the doorway of his mother’s chambers. There had been a lot of activity in and around the rooms today and Thor hadn’t seen either of his parents, left in the care of his nursemaid.

“Thor,” Frigga held out a hand to him. “Come here, sweetling. I have someone I would like for you to meet.”

Thor crossed the room with quick steps, carefully pulling himself up onto the bed next to her. “Who is that?” he asked, seeing the small person in his mother’s arms.

“This is your little brother, Thor,” Frigga said gently. “His name is Loki.”

“Loki,” Thor repeated, causing the infant to open his eyes and blink up at Thor. After a moment, the infant blinked slowly and smiled. “He smiled at me!” Thor gasped, looking between the smiling infant and his mother.

“He did,” Frigga smiled fondly. “You will help me take care of him, will you, Thor?”

“Yes, Mother,” Thor pledged. “Always, for the rest of our lives.”

“There is my little warrior.” Frigga pulled him into a hug with the arm that wasn’t holding Loki. “Would you like to hold him?”

“May I?” Thor gasped.

“Here,” Frigga readjusted Thor’s position before carefully putting Loki in Thor’s arms.

“He is so tiny,” Thor whispered, not looking away from Loki.

“He will grow.”

“As big as me?”

“Perhaps.” Frigga laughed, “Everybody grows differently.”

“Okay,” Thor pressed a kiss to Loki’s forehead. “I love him.”

“I know you do, sweetling,” Frigga smiled. “But I believe it is your bedtime.”

“But, Mother!”

“No buts, Thor,” Frigga said firmly, taking Loki to put him in his bassinet. “You may come see Loki again tomorrow.”

“Alright,” Thor sighed, slipping off the bed and going back to his own chambers.

Frigga smiled down at the sleeping infant, who was hers, though not by blood, and hoped that she could still avert the terrible things she had seen in his future the first time she had held him. “Sleep well,” she whispered to the babe. “Loki Laufyson.”

* * *

Thor slept like the dead. He had slept through some of the worst storms Asgard had ever seen, only to wake the next morning with no idea anything had happened.

There was one sound, however, that always woke him. A small door was set in the wall between his and Loki's bedchambers, covered by a tapestry on both sides. Whenever this door opened, Thor stopped what he was doing. When he was asleep, he woke immediately, lifting the blankets that covered him to allow Loki to curl up against his side.

“What is wrong, brother?” Thor asked, holding Loki’s shivering form close, chasing the traces of blue from his form with a gentle hand.

“The fire has gone out in my room,” Loki whimpered. “And I had a nightmare.”

“Should I restoke the fire?”

Loki shook his head against Thor’s chest. “You are warm here,” he murmured.

“Alright,” Thor agreed, running gentle fingers through Loki’s loose hair. “Do you wish to tell me what your dream was about?”

“It was you,” Loki whispered. “And Fandral, and Volstagg, and they were making fun of me because I am not as big as they are. And you did not stop them.” Thor could feel Loki’s tears in his nightshirt as he finished talking.

“You know that would not happen, do you not, Loki?” Thor asked.

“In this universe,” Loki murmured.

“What do you mean by that?” 

“I do not think these are nightmares, Thor.” Loki sat up a bit. “What if I am accidentally seeing into another universe, the universe we were supposed to be in? One where you hate me.”

“Loki.” Thor sat up as well, looking his brother in the eye. “That could never happen, I could never hate you.”

Loki didn’t answer, but he did let Thor pull him back down under the covers. 

“Get some sleep,” the older said. “I will keep you safe, always.”

Loki smiled up at his big brother, eyes already heavy once again with sleep. “Love you, Thor.”

Thor pressed a gentle kiss to Loki’s forehead, the way their mother had done a thousand times before. “I love you too, Loki.”

* * *

Thor all but snarled when he heard the door open. “I said I do not wish to be disturbed!”

“I did not think that applied to me as well,” Loki’s voice came from near the hidden door.

“Loki!” Thor shot up, all but running to the door to wrap his brother in a hug. “When did you return?”

Loki laughed as Thor finally set him back on the ground. “Not five minutes ago. I have not even been to see the All-Father yet.”

“You should have told me you were coming,” Thor said softly. “I would have been waiting with Mother and Heimdall.”

“I wanted to surprise you. So tell me,” Loki guided Thor back to where he had been sitting by the fire. “What has you so upset, brother mine?”

“I had an audience with Father today,” Thor sighed, sitting on the furs in front of the fire, pulling Loki down with him. “He is trying to convince me to take a wife, again.”

“Was he pushing you towards Sif this time as well?” Loki asked, shrugging off his traveling cloak and throwing it on one of the chairs. 

“He does not seem to understand,” Thor sighed, letting Loki pull him down to rest his head on the younger's lap. “I love Sif, I truly do, but I could never see her as a husband must. She is one of my warriors and my shield sister, and that is plenty enough for us.”

Loki gave him a sympathetic hum, carding gentle fingers through Thor’s hair. “Such is the burden of being the heir.”

Thor gave a low grumble, but he let himself relax under Loki’s steady fingers. “I forgot to ask,” he murmured, fighting to stay awake. “How did your trip go? Did you find what you were looking for?”

“I did,” Loki said, fingers stilling for a moment. “I found my father, Thor.”

Thor was immediately wide awake, sitting up and turning to look at Loki. “You found him? Who is it? What is he like? Did you get to talk to him?”

Loki pulled his knees to his chest, arms wrapped around them. “My father is Laufey,” he said, voice barely more than a whisper. “I am Jotun, Thor. I am a monster.”

“Loki,” Thor moved to cradle his brother’s face in his hands. “You are not a monster. How could you ever think that?”

“I am Jotun, Thor,” Loki refused to look at Thor as the blue tint he always got when he was cold taking over his skin. “I am the monster parents tell their children to fear.”

“Loki.” Thor held him close until he could feel the other’s breathing slow. “Loki, you are no monster. You are a prince of Asgard. Well-beloved by the people, perhaps even more than I am.”

Loki snorted. “Nobody is more beloved than you are, Thor.”

“And you never let me forget it.”

“What if Laufey finds me as well? I found him without much difficulty. He is the king of Jotunheim, he must have so many more resources than I do.”

“Loki, we’re both nearly at our majorities. If Laufey had wanted to find you, he would have by now. You are here, you are my brother. Nothing that happens, past, present, or future, could ever change that.”

“Thank you,” Loki murmured against Thor’s chest.

“For you,” Thor stared into the heart of the fire as he made the vow to himself as well as to Loki. “Always.”

* * *

The day of Thor's coronation, the Jotuns broke into the palace and attempted to steal the Casket of Ancient Winters. They failed at that, but they managed to knock Loki unconscious and steal him away instead.

Lady Sif and the Warriors Three were already waiting at the stables when Thor stormed in to retrieve his horse.

“You do not have to come with me,” Thor said as he checked the straps on the horse’s saddle.

“Yes we do, Thor,” Sif said. “Loki is our friend as well.”

Thor nodded once, mounting his horse and trusting the others to be at his back.

“Heimdall,” Thor stepped up to the guardian of the Bifrost, dismounting the horse just as quickly as he had mounted it. “They have taken Loki. I must go after them.”

“The All-Father has commanded me to deny access to the realm of Jotunheim. However,” Heimdall continued before Thor could protest. “Your mother has told me that you are very much Loki’s protector and would do anything to go to his aid.” Heimdall gave Thor a long look that seemed to pierce his very soul. “I shall send you to Jotunheim, young prince. But you must be careful.”

“I will,” Thor promised. “I will do my best to cause no harm on my way.”

“I suppose that is the best I am going to get from you,” Heimdall said with a sigh as he opened the Bifrost.

“Thank you, Heimdall,” Thor said with a nod of his head before taking the single step that would deliver him to Jotunheim.

* * *

“King Laufey!” Thor called out when they reached the wide valley the Jotun king’s throne sat in. “You have taken one of the princes of Asgard. My friends and I have come to ask you for his return.”

“I know not what you mean, princeling,” Laufey responded, voice low and raspy. “The only thing my men took from Asgard is the prince that was taken from us so very long ago. We have only taken what was first taken from us.”

“Loki is not a thing to be taken by force!” Thor argued. “The All-Father may have been in the wrong, taking him as a child, but Loki has never wanted for anything as a prince of Asgard.”

“He is my child!” Laufey boomed.

“You left him for dead!” Thor returned. “I have learned of your tradition. Loki was small, so you left him to die!”

“What do you care?” Laufey sneered. “He is nothing but a Jotun runt. What is he to the golden prince of Asgard?”

“He is my brother,” Thor answered. “I am his protector, he has been my closest confidant since we were children. Loki is much more than just a Jotun to me.”

Laufey stared dispassionately at Thor for a long moment before waving his hand to a guard. “You shall have the runt back,” he told the group of Asgardians. “He is much more trouble than he is worth.”

The guard returned several moments later, all but dragging Loki along the ground behind him.

“Loki!” Thor cried, rushing forward and gathering his brother in his arms.

“Thor,” Loki murmured, looking tired and in pain. “You came for me.”

“I promised you I would,” Thor whispered back before turning to face Laufey. “Thank you, King Laufey.”

“Leave my kingdom,” Laufey commanded despite the slight softening Thor could see in his eyes.

Thor nodded once, turning on his heel and leading his friends towards the travel point of the Bifrost.

* * *

The All-Father was waiting in the Bifrost chamber when Thor and his friends returned.

“Sif,” Thor turned to her, carefully handing Loki off to her. “Take him to the healers, you know whom he prefers.”

Sif nodded, exiting the Bifrost chamber with the Warriors Three trailing after her.

“Father,” Thor now turned his attention to Odin. “I know you said I was not to go to Jotunheim--”

“And yet you still chose to disobey,” Odin hissed. “With no more than your friends at your back. What would have happened to Asgard if you had been killed?”

“Sif and the Warriors Three are more than able to hold their own and have my back in a fight,” Thor returned. “Why do you not tell me the true reason you didn’t want me to rescue Loki? Is it because he is Jotun?”

Odin hissed again. “You are not worthy of being my son, or of being the next ruler of Asgard.” Odin got a dangerous look in his eye. “You are exiled,” he told Thor, activating the Bifrost before sending Thor through it as his armor fell from his body.

* * *

Thor learned a great deal while on Midgard, about the science of Midgard from Jane and Erik, about how organizations such as SHIELD ran and how to command men, much better than his father had ever taught him, from the Son of Coul, and most importantly, he learned a great deal about himself, his father, and Loki from the Lady Darcy, even though she had never met either of the other men.

When Thor had been on Midgard for a month, it had been long enough for the Son of Coul to acquire identification for him under the name of Donald Blake and for Thor to begin seriously considering the one-eyed director’s offer to join a group called the Avengers. He already got on quite well with another potential member, the blond archer known as Hawkeye.

The morning of the 31st day, Thor woke feeling an energy in the air that told him this day would be different.

“Sup, big guy,” Darcy greeted cheerfully, passing him on the way to the coffee machine, the pot full except for the mug in Thor’s hands. “You look thinky, something up?”

“Yes,” Thor answered, not looking away from the glass window that took up a whole wall of the building they were staying in. “I am not quite sure what.”

“Bad something up?” she asked, sitting next to him with her own mug.

“No,” he said after a moment of consideration. “I believe it will be a good thing.”

“Alright,” Darcy drained her mug. “Let me know if that changes. I’m going to wrangle some scientists.”

“I may join you in a few moments,” Thor said, watching as she got off the couch.

“Hey,” she paused behind the couch, leaning down to press a kiss that felt like a blessing on the top of his head. “Everything’s gonna be alright.”

“I wish that I had your optimism, Lady Darcy.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” she said brightly, “Scientist wrangler and resident optimist.”

Thor smiled fondly after her, finishing off his own coffee and taking the mug to the sink to rinse off. After cleaning his mug, he tidied the main room a bit, Jane and Erik managed to make a larger mess than the Warriors Three when drunk. Thor had never been overly tidy, but this was a whole new level. Before joining the others in the lab, he paused to give one last look through the window, a sense that something was supposed to happen still nagging at the back of his mind.

The day went by much the same way as most of the month previous, the morning spent in the lab, helping Darcy make sure nothing got too out of hand. It reminded him of keeping Loki on track while he was working on new spellwork. After lunch, Thor would spend the afternoon with the SHIELD agents, learning more from the Son of Coul about taking charge of men in the field than he ever had from his father. Then, as evening fell, Thor returned to the house and helped Darcy make dinner for whoever arrived for the meal.

But as everyone, the scientists and the SHIELD agents alike, sat at the table, a loud thunderclap shook the building.

“Stay here,” Thor cautioned Jane, Darcy, and Erik as he and the two SHIELD agents stood to go investigate the source of the noise.

“Coulson!” Hawkeye, Clint, called from the far side of the building. “I’ve got something!”

Both other men ran to where Clint was crouched over a dark form. “Whoever this is,” Clint said, backing up a bit to let the other two see. “He’s in bad shape.”

“Call for medical,” Coulson said, carefully holstering his weapon. “Thor, are you...Thor?”

But Thor had stopped listening, falling to his knees next to the figure. “Loki,” he breathed, gently brushing hair from his face. “What have they done to you?”

“You know this guy?” Clint asked, returning his drawn arrow to the quiver on his back.

“This is Loki,” Thor answered, carefully pulling the other into his arms after making sure there were no injuries that would be exacerbated by the movement.

“Might want to add a magical consult to that medical call, then,” Clint said, pulling out his com. “Anything else we should know?”

“As much as he might look it, my brother is not Asgardian. My physiology is similar enough to that of a human’s, but his Jotun physiology is a whole different realm.”

“Good to know,” Clint said with a nod, taking several steps away to make the call.

“You going to be okay for this?” Son of Coul asked. “It...may not be pretty.”

“I have seen Loki at his lowest moments, worse than anything you could ever imagine,” Thor said, voice low and almost dangerous. “I will not be separated from him now.”

Coulson nodded once as the medical team Clint had called for arrived on the scene.

* * *

“So this is Loki, huh?”

Thor turned slightly, still holding onto Loki’s hand with one of his to see Darcy standing in the doorway. “It is,” he agreed with a nod as Darcy sat in the chair next to him.

“Has he woken up yet?” Darcy asked, folding herself into the chair in a way Thor thought couldn’t possibly be comfortable.

“No.”

“Hey,” Darcy leaned over and gently pushed at him. “He’ll be alright, Big Guy.”

“I worry,” Thor whispered. “Loki has never had to spend any amount of time in Odin’s court without me by his side. With Loki’s recent discovery of his true heritage, I fear to think of what the All-Father would have done to him. Odin has never been overly fond of Loki in the first place.”

Darcy hummed quietly, leaning towards Thor. “Everything’s gonna be okay,” Darcy said. “I can feel it.”

Thor smiled fondly. “Thank you, Lady Darcy.”

“Of course,” Darcy said with a bright grin as she stood. “I’m gonna go check on the scientists, you need anything?”

“Not right now, thank you.”

Darcy pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “Try to get some sleep, alright?”

“I will do my best,” Thor said with a nod as Darcy left the room.

* * *

Loki woke with a gasp in the middle of the night. He shot up in the bed, clutching at the strange bedclothes. “Thor!” he cried out, instinct born of a lifetime with his brother as his protector.

“I am here, Loki,” Thor’s warm voice, so well-loved and so much missed in the past month. “I am here, you are safe.”

“Thor.” Loki turned to see his brother sitting in a chair next to the bed in which Loki lay. “Is it really you? Truly?”

“I am here, Loki,” Thor took Loki’s hand, pressing the palm flat to his chest, just above his heart so that Loki could feel the steady beat. “Odin exiled me to Midgard for rescuing you from Jotunheim.”

Loki settled back into the bed, shivering slightly. “The All-Father has gone mad,” Loki whispered. “He has closed the Bifrost and the palace completely.”

“Loki.” Thor shifted to sit on the edge of the bed, pulling the smaller man into a warm hug. “You are safe, the All-Father cannot reach you here.”

Loki shivered again before melting into Thor’s arms. “He can get us anywhere, Thor.”

“I will keep you safe,” Thor promised. “Of all of the times I have failed, this time I will succeed.”

* * *

It took Loki much less time than anyone expected to heal, and before the week was out, he was up and about, cautiously getting to know the friends Thor had made during his month on Midgard. He settled into a routine as easily as Thor had, doing his best to help Jane and Erik work on how to get the two brothers home.

“Jane is quite fond of you,” Loki informed Thor one day as they took their turn cleaning up after dinner.

“I am fond of her as well,” Thor said, handing Loki a plate to dry. “She is a good friend, and very intelligent.”

“That is not the only way she is fond of you, Thor,” Loki sighed, putting the plate in the cabinet. “You know that as well as I.”

Thor paused, removing his hands from the sink of water and drying them before turning to face Loki. “True enough,” he agreed, when Loki set down the plate in his hands. “But I have no interest in her in such a way. I have told her as such, and the Lady Darcy has assured me that my point has come across clearly.”

“Yet she still…”

“It is naught but a crush,” Thor interrupted. “She knows nothing will come of it, but it is not so simple to deny.”

Loki didn’t respond, turning away as he fiddled with the cuff of his long-sleeved shirt.

“Is something else bothering you, Brother?” Thor asked, watching Loki’s shifting.

“I…” Loki hesitated before squaring his shoulders. “I don’t want to be your brother, Thor.”

“What do you want to be, then?” Thor asked, trying not to let the hurt from the comment show on his face.

Loki struggled with his words for a moment, his famous silver tongue apparently having abandoned him, before he decided to forsake words entirely and surged forward, pressing his lips almost desperately to Thor’s.

Thor made a surprised sound in the back of his throat before he pulled Loki closer, turning the kiss into something much more heartfelt.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” Thor murmured when he pulled away, not letting Loki go too far by keeping him in his arms.

“Then why did you not?” Loki asked, breath coming unevenly.

Thor pressed a gentle kiss to Loki’s lips. “I was not sure how my advances would be received.”

Loki let out a breath of a laugh. “I have been in love with you forever, Thor. Since even before I can remember.”

“I love you too,” Thor gave Loki another kiss. “We should finish the dishes.”

“I suppose,” Loki sighed, resting his head against Thor’s shoulder.

Thor pressed a kiss to the top of Loki’s head before stepping back and returning to the sink.

* * *

When Loki and Thor entered the common area the next morning, Darcy immediately hit play on her iPod, the opening of a song that had Jane cringing away blaring through the speakers on her dock.

“Darcy, why?” she whined.

“Because my room is right next to theirs,” Darcy answered, taking another pull of her coffee as the song kept playing. “The walls are very thin, and they are not quiet.”

Loki turned redder than Thor’s cape, and he turned and buried his face in Thor’s shoulder.

Thor just laughed, herding Loki to the breakfast bar and gathering food for them before returning to Loki’s side. “There is no need for embarrassment,” he told both Loki and Jane. “In fact, it is cause for celebration!”

“I can get behind that,” Darcy agreed, “Break out the booze!”

“No,” Jane shot her down quickly. “We have work to do.”

“You’re no fun,” Darcy pouted as she finished her coffee. “Fine, no booze.”

“Good,” Jane finished her food, putting dishes in the sink before going towards the lab, Darcy following after, refilling her mug.

“Do you have any regrets, Loki?” Thor asked once the others were gone.

“No,” Loki answered immediately, leaning into Thor, enjoying the warmth the man gave off. “Not at all.”

* * *

Three months after Loki’s arrival to Midgard, a messenger of Odin arrived at the lab.

“Thor Odinson!” the messenger exclaimed, handing an envelope to the named man. “A message from the All-Father!”

Thor carefully opened the envelope, pulling out the short message, written on a card.

“What is your response to the All-Father?” the messenger enquired.

“Give me a moment.” Thor took a blank index card from a nearby table, writing out his response before sealing it back into the envelope. “Return this to the All-Father.”

The messenger nodded, turning on his heel and leaving the building.

“Thor?” Loki stood hesitantly in the doorway between the lab and living quarters, one hand hovering over the small bump that heralded the child they had only just learned of. “Was that…?”

“One of the All-Father’s messengers,” Thor confirmed, turning to face his partner, his newly gained husband. “He wants me to return to Asgard to marry a woman he has chosen for me and become King of Asgard.” 

“Does he say anything of us?”

“No.” Thor shook his head. “I will not return to Asgard, not on his terms, not to marry a woman he has determined ‘fit’ for me. I will return with you by my side, as my equal, or not at all.”

Loki smiled softly, coming forward to settle into Thor’s warm embrace. “I feel something terrible is about to happen,” he whispered into Thor’s chest.

“Do not worry,” Thor responded. “I will keep us safe, all of us.”

* * *

Thor returned to Asgard three days after he spoke to the All-Father’s messenger. He took with him only what he had been exiled with, except for two small photographs, one of his friends, his new family, on Midgard, and the other a small photograph of his and Loki’s child, still safely in Loki’s womb.

“Heimdall,” Thor greeted the keeper of the Bifrost with a nod.

“Thor,” the other returned. “After you speak to the All-Father, your mother wishes to speak to you in her chambers.” 

“Thank you, Heimdall,” Thor said as he set off to the palace on foot.

* * *

“All-Father,” Thor knelt in front of the throne, despite the anger at the man that crawled under his skin.

“My son.” There was no warmth in Odin’s voice. “Are you ready to forget the Jotun runt and take your place on the throne?”

“I am ready to do my duty, All-Father,” Thor answered, not looking up.

“As I had hoped,” Odin said, a note of smug satisfaction in his voice. “You are to be married the day after tomorrow, make yourself prepared. You are dismissed.”

“Yes, All-Father.” Thor stood, the familiar weight of his armor and Mjolnir resettling around him as he left the throne room, making his way to his mother’s chambers.

Even before he had a chance to knock on the door, it flew open, his mother coming through and wrapping her arms around him. “Tell me you were safe,” Frigga murmured. “And your brother.”

Thor ushered his mother into her chambers, feeling the spells that protected her room from eavesdroppers and uninvited guests before answering her question. “Loki and I are safe,” Thor answered. “But Loki is no longer my brother, he is my husband.” Thor pulled out the ring he wore on a chain around his neck. “We are expecting a child, Mother. But it is not safe for them, for Loki or our child. It won’t be until the All-Father is off the throne.”

“I know,” Frigga said, voice hard. “Odin is no longer able to properly rule Asgard. Things have gotten much worse in your exile, Thor. He has made an alliance with the Mad Titan, your marriage to his second-in-command is meant to complete it."

“Have you met this woman? The woman Father wants me to marry?”

“Her name is Gamora, she does not seem to be a true believer in Thanos’ plan, like many of his other children are.”

“Then we may yet be able to avert a great number of tragedies,” Thor said. “I must speak to Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. Are they in Asgard?”

“On the training grounds,” Frigga answered. “Do you have a plan?”

“I have 12% of a plan,” Thor said as he left the room.

* * *

Thor met his ‘bride’ the day before they were set to be married. He left the meeting with a full plan to stop both Thanos and Odin’s plans with simply the two of them and Thor’s friends.

On the day of the wedding, they set their plan into place, and before the day was out, Odin and Thanos were both removed from power, and put in separate dimensional prisons, the only thing that would hold either of them.

By the time Thor was able to return to Midgard, it was nearly two full Asgardian months after he had left. He landed just far enough from the edge of town that he wouldn’t damage any of the buildings before making his way to the lab.

Thor reached the building and paused for a moment, just on the edge of the warm light that spilled from the window wall. As he watched, the door to his and Loki’s room opened and Loki stepped out, a blanket-wrapped bundle in his arms as he crossed to the kitchen, setting it in the bassinet waiting at the end of the breakfast bar. Thor’s breath caught at the sight before making his way to the door.

He knew the instant he crossed through the layers of protective magicks Loki had put around the building, both from the tingle of the wards as well as the way Loki’s head snapped up, instantly finding Thor. The door opened even before Thor reached it, and Loki all but flew out of the door. Before he even had time to think about it, Loki was in his arms.

“You are home!” Loki breathed against Thor’s chest. “You are here!”

“I am sorry I was gone for so long,” Thor answered. “I had to bring order back from the chaos Odin had left Asgard in.”

“How is Mother?”

“She is well,” Thor answered. “How are you, and our…”

Loki smiled, pulling away and taking Thor by the hand. “Come meet your son, Thor.”

* * *

A team was needed to defend Midgard from the portion of Thanos’ plans that had not stopped with the imprisonment of their master.

Thor joined without a second thought. Midgard was more his home than Asgard, now under the more than capable rule of his mother, had ever been. It was where his husband and their young son lived. So Thor joined the team, made of the two SHIELD agents who had become a part of their family, as well as a man touched by the Tesseract, a man who literally wore his heart on the outside of his chest, and a man split of two minds.

Loki remained in New Mexico with the scientists and Lady Darcy until well after the battle was finished.

The Man of Iron, the man who felt so much but showed it so little, made a home for the whole team. And so, years down the road, when Thor finally returned to rule Asgard, it was with his husband and children by his side and tokens of long-dead friends near his heart.

Thor Friggason took his place on the throne of Asgard, his husband at his right hand, and he knew that Midgard had been the best thing that had ever happened to him.


End file.
